


A Rotten Feeling

by Incoherentbabblings



Series: Tumblr Ask Game Prompts [33]
Category: Batgirl (Comics), Batman - All Media Types, DCU (Comics), Red Robin (Comics)
Genre: Adopted Sibling Relationship, Arguing, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Jealousy, Music, Originally Posted on Tumblr, Romance, Sibling Rivalry, Tumblr Ask Box Fic, Unresolved Tension
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-19
Updated: 2020-09-19
Packaged: 2021-03-09 04:14:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,094
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27068473
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Incoherentbabblings/pseuds/Incoherentbabblings
Summary: Stephanie could sing. Stephanie could play the piano. She lived up to the Robin title in many regards, but the songbird aspect was still one that counted.Damian could play the violin and did often lord it over the other members of the house as a way of cementing his superiority over the others.Tim could not carry a tune to save his life. He could not play an instrument. The guitar that his dad had bought him as a pre-teen had sat in his room, purely for aesthetic.It may be irrational, but Tim is jealous.
Relationships: Stephanie Brown & Damian Wayne, Stephanie Brown/Tim Drake, Tim Drake & Damian Wayne
Series: Tumblr Ask Game Prompts [33]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1970230
Comments: 2
Kudos: 18





	A Rotten Feeling

**Author's Note:**

> Prompt: 
> 
> _“Holding everything in doesn’t help, you know.”_

Dick could sing. Dick could play the guitar. And the accordion apparently. 

Stephanie could sing. Stephanie could play the piano. She lived up to the Robin title in many regards, but the songbird aspect was still one that counted.

Damian could play the violin and did often lord it over the other members of the house as a way of cementing his superiority over the others.

_Tim_ could not carry a tune to save his life. He could not play an instrument. The guitar that his dad had bought him as a pre-teen had sat in his room, purely for aesthetic. What well-off teenager didn’t have a disused instrument shoved in a corner of their room? Right?

Right?

Point was Tim wasn’t particularly musically or artistically inclined.

Tim refused to admit it, but he hated the scene in front of him. Stephanie and Damian were currently playing a little duet together, as a present to Alfred for his birthday. 

Stephanie, sat at Martha Wayne’s piano, Damian stood beside her in a little formal suit, playing a Handel sonata. Stephanie was smiling broadly, looking occasionally at her sheet music only to turn the page, as if she knew it all by heart, Damian would peek back at her occasionally, for she was the one keeping them in time, a small smile on his lips too. Tim knew Damian took his violin playing very seriously, but still. Stephanie’s happiness was infectious.

Tim burned with jealousy.

The two finished, and the jolt of Alfred rising from the sofa next to Tim with an applause made Tim also clap. He smiled, but he knew it was frigid. Stephanie stumbled off the stool with a cry of _happy birthday_ and took the bold move to hug the butler. 

When she looked over to Tim, face blatantly seeking praise (praise she deserved, praise he wanted to give her), she suddenly looked anxious, disappointed, sad.

Was his face that bad?

“Thank you, Stephanie. You were a good partner,” Damian genuinely praised, pulling Stephanie away from Tim for a moment.

Tim did not miss the smug look he was thrown from Damian. Just another way Damian was better than Tim. He had something with Stephanie Tim didn’t.

Tim could feel himself glaring fire at Damian, who remained smug, looking only at Stephanie. Stephanie, who understood how difficult such praise was for Damian and was smiling encouragingly. He was trying to be good for Alfred’s birthday after all. To compliment her with no sarcastic derision… well it was something.

“Easy to be your partner Damian. Thank you for thinking of the idea!”

Damian’s smile turned back to genuine, and somehow this made Tim go blind with jealousy. Damian knew she used to play piano.

_Damian_ knew?

Unable to help himself, Tim left the room and went out onto the porch. It was frigid cold, like a slap to the face, but Tim thought it would help him cool down. He barely had a moment to himself, when the door opened behind him.

“What’s wrong?” Stephanie asked, following him outside. "You're upset, what's wrong?"

“Nothing,” his tone was short and grumpy. “Go celebrate Alfred’s birthday. I’m okay.”

He refused to look at her, so he missed her look of hurt. “Did you like it? We worked really hard and –”

“Can you go away already?”

A pause, where he could not even hear her breathe, passed. His tone was as cold as the temperature. No, no. He wasn’t mad at her why was he behaving like this? She hasn’t done anything wrong she had just played music for Alfred’s birthday she was trying to comfort him –

He heard her open the door to go back into the warmth. “Let me know when you’re ready to apologise, yeah?”

The door slammed shut, and Tim felt the ice in the air pierce his gut. 

Sure enough, she was ready to hear him out when he came through after patrol to say his piece. She was wringing her hands nervously at the hem of her nightdress. It was one of his shirts. 

“I was out of line,” he muttered.

Her eyes were wet, but hard; as icy as the temperature outside.

“Why did you tell me to go away like that?”

“I was angry.”

“At me?”

He shook his head desperately, “No!”

“Then why couldn’t I help?” She shook her pyjamas in frustration. “I thought you would have liked it. You’re always hinting that you want me to start playing again. I know it wasn’t crap because there’s no way we would have presented that if Damian thought it was garbage.”

Again, the urge to leave the room returned. Stephanie saw Tim’s haunted look and screwed up her face. 

“I don’t believe you! This is about Damian again isn’t it?”

“What?” 

“You’re jealous of me being close with your twelve-year-old brother. Because we can do something together that you and I can’t?”

Unbelievable. Feeling like he was having to pick his jaw off the floor, Tim pushed, “How do you know these things?”

“I know you Tim.” She turned away and climbed into bed, throwing the sheets over her head. “I know how your stupid brain works. Makes you think worse of the world. It makes you suffer unnecessarily and I hate that it does that to you.”

“Oh.” _That was a full on dissection._ “I just… I just thought it was better to remove myself from the situation that was upsetting me. That’s a legit thing to do right?”

“It is.” And Stephanie sat upright. “But you can talk to me. Holding everything in doesn’t help, you know.”

“But it was over such a petty thing!”

“Doesn’t matter! Little things can build up until it goes pop!”

“ _Pop_ …" Tim mused. “I’m sorry Steph. It was a really nice performance. You did so well. I’m sorry if I belittled it.” 

She shut her eyes, thinking, then nodded. “You’re lucky Alfred didn’t notice. I forgive you. I love you. Come here so I can cuddle you until you believe it.”

Grateful, he climbed in next to her. She pushed him until he turned around, and she spooned him.

“Please tell me when your sad or angry,” she entreated. “Even if you think the reasoning is dumb.”

Tim did not respond to her question and mused something else over. “Hey, Steph? If I picked up guitar again, got Dick to teach me, could we play together?”

Conflicted, Stephanie conceded the argument, seeing that he had taken in nothing she had told him, and kissed his ear.

“I would love that.”

**Author's Note:**

> Originally posted on Tumblr on the 19th September 2020.


End file.
